Surviving Roots: Examining the stories we inherit—and the courage to rewrite them.

You can be in a room full of people, successful, loved — and still feel completely alone. In this episode, host Cari Fund sits down with trauma-informed therapist Dr. Sylvia Kalicinski, host of The Dr. Sylvia K Show and author of the brand-new book Lonely AF: A Therapist's No BS Guide to Feeling Less Alone.

Sylvia opens up about losing her mother at age two, growing up as the golden child of a narcissistic father, and the unprocessed grief she didn't recognize until adulthood. Together, she and Cari explore why emotional loneliness has nothing to do with how many people are around you, how generational trauma gets passed down through our nervous systems, and what it really takes to stop wearing the mask and come home to yourself.

Sylvia also walks us through her five-step HEART method — Honor your emotions, Explore your family patterns, Acknowledge your pain points, Rewrite your narrative, and Turn within — and guides a grounding exercise you can do anywhere, anytime, for free.

This is a conversation about cycle breaking, the mother wound, narcissistic family dynamics, and the freedom that comes when you finally choose your own story.

📖 Get Lonely AF by Dr. Sylvia Kalicinski: https://amzn.to/4b3SdLV

Connect with Dr. Sylvia: @drsylviak Follow the podcast: @survivingrootspod Follow Cari Fund: @cari.fund

🌱 Free estrangement guide: www.cari.fund

What if going no contact was never the choice — what if it was simply the moment you stopped your own abuse?

Licensed psychologist Dr. Sherrie Campbell returns to Surviving Roots for her third visit — and this is hands-down our most powerful (and yes, most fun) conversation yet. Dr. Sherrie is one of the nation's leading voices on estrangement, toxic family, and cycle breaking, and her new book You Are Home is the healing manual so many of us never had.

In this episode, Cari and Dr. Sherrie go deep on what it really means to heal from family trauma — using the unforgettable metaphor of a house, from the basement where we store the pain that was never ours to carry, all the way up to the top floor where we finally get to dream. It's heart-opening and heartbreaking in the very best way.

We talk about: • Why "you didn't go no contact — you stopped your abuse" reframes everything • Emotional homelessness and what it feels like day to day • Separating what was done to you from who you actually are • Why "no contact" isn't cancel culture — and why it isn't a trend • Reclaiming your inner child and learning self-love when you were never taught it • "Self-integration": the stage after estrangement nobody talks about • Setting boundaries from strength instead of guilt

Whether you're on your first step or your millionth, this conversation will meet you exactly where you are.

📖 Grab Dr. Sherrie's new book You Are Home on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3Sa3YK5

💛 Follow Dr. Sherrie: @dr.sherrie 🎙️ Follow the show: @survivingrootspod ✨ Follow Cari: @cari.fund

Free estrangement guide: www.cari.fund

What if the worst thing that ever happened to you became the thing that finally woke you up?

In this episode of Surviving Roots, Cari Fund welcomes back author, speaker, and Every Soul Has a Story podcast host Dara Levan to talk about her new novel, Shaken to the Core — a deeply human story about grief, marriage, identity, and what we do with the time we have left.

Dara opens up about the sudden loss that inspired the book, why "showing up" matters more than knowing the right thing to say, and the belief that bodies die but souls don't. She and Cari get into how grief is so often misunderstood, why she stopped "deifying the dead," what it really takes to choose joy (not toxic positivity), and how motherhood and mothering can transcend biology. Along the way they talk honestly about marriage that survives the hard seasons, estrangement, chosen family, and refusing to pretend everything's fine.

Whether you're grieving, healing, or just trying to live with no regrets, this conversation is a reminder that you can choose your own path — even when you think you can't.

Dara's new novel, Shaken to the Core, is out now.

🎧 Topics: grief, sudden loss, motherhood, marriage, identity, choosing joy, legacy, estrangement, chosen family, healing, living with no regrets.

✨ Connect:

Follow Cari: @cari.fund | www.cari.fund

Follow Dara: @dara.levan | Every Soul Has a Story podcast

📖 Buy the book, Shaken to the Core: https://amzn.to/3Qdwnyl

📓 Grab my FREE guide: www.cari.fund

📓 $9 Estrangement Survival Mini Guide: https://cari-fund.myshopify.com/

What if anxiety isn't a flaw to fix, but a signal you've stopped listening to yourself?

In this episode of Surviving Roots, Cari Fund sits down with mental health educator and author Genny Rumancik — founder of The EQ School and the voice behind a 170,000-strong community — to unpack what emotional intelligence actually looks like in real life.

They get into the moment at a Portland airport that changed how Genny understood conflict, the "eldest daughter" wound and the cost of holding everything for everyone, why self-awareness is a daily practice and not a personality trait, and how to set boundaries from a grounded place instead of a reactive one. Genny also shares why the goal isn't to make hard feelings disappear as fast as possible — it's to learn to be present with them so they can move through you.

Whether you're on your first step or your millionth, this conversation is a permission slip to slow down and come home to yourself.

Genny's debut book, The Wisdom of Feeling: Finding Clarity, Courage, and Connection Through Emotional Intelligence (Tarcher), is out now.

🎧 Topics: emotional intelligence, self-awareness, anxiety, boundaries, the mother wound, eldest daughter syndrome, breaking generational cycles, nervous system regulation, healing.

✨ Connect:

Follow Cari: @cari.fund | www.cari.fund

Follow Genny: @theeqschool | theeqschool.co

📖 Buy the book, The Wisdom of Feeling: https://amzn.to/4fP7W4H

📓 Grab my FREE guide: www.cari.fund

📓 $9 Estrangement Survival Mini Guide: https://cari-fund.myshopify.com/

What if your "glow up" isn't a makeover… it's freedom?

In this episode of Surviving Roots, Cari Fund sits down with Michelle Fairburn—mother of two, creator, and living proof that rebuilding a life doesn't happen overnight (and doesn't need to look polished to be powerful).

Michelle became a mom at 20, navigated profound loss and a mother wound, and later survived a fast-moving relationship that turned abusive after marriage. Together, Cari and Michelle unpack the real behind-the-scenes of healing: self-forgiveness, faith, identity, parenting while evolving, and what it takes to break cycles without pretending it's "easy."

In this episode, we talk about:

• Becoming a mom at 20—and why her kids were planned.

• The "mother wound," abandonment, grief, and missing pieces you can't Google.

• How love-bombing can look like a fairy tale… until it doesn't.

• Red flags: moving too fast, isolation, jealousy, identity erasure ("my wife").

• Self-forgiveness as the moment you finally unlock your life.

• Faith as a turning point (and the difference between healing and pretending).

• Parenting with grace: not bashing dads, letting kids see truth for themselves.

• Creating content with her daughter as a business: impact + income.

• Handling trolls (and what happens when someone comes for your kid).

Michelle's story is honest, funny, raw, and deeply human—and it'll leave you thinking about what "freedom" really means.

Find Michelle: @michellefairburn (on all platforms)

Find Cari: @cari.fund

If this episode hits home, share it with a friend—and don't forget to follow, rate, and review.

Check out my Estrangment Survival Mini-Guide

What does it really take to leave a narcissistic relationship—without losing your finances, your children, or yourself?

In this powerful episode of Surviving Roots, I sit down with Camille Zhuk, founder of The Breaking Free Project, a strategic support platform designed to help individuals—especially parents—safely exit narcissistic relationships.

With a background in business and finance and specialized training in narcissistic abuse recovery, coercive control, domestic violence advocacy, and behavioral profiling, Camille offers something rare: clear, logical strategy paired with deep compassion—without pretending to be a therapist.

In this conversation, we unpack:

• How to protect your finances when leaving a narcissistic spouse

• Why you must plan quietly—and what happens if you don't

• How to protect children from emotional harm and parental alienation

• The importance of evidence documentation and legal strategy

• Early red flags like mirroring, moving too fast, and refusal to accept "no"

• Why calm and control—not confrontation—are your greatest tools

This episode is not about labels or trends. It's about education, safety, and reclaiming your peace.

If you're asking yourself, "Am I married to a narcissist?" Camille also shares a free first step: you can take an assessment on their website to help you identify narcissistic patterns and clarify what you're dealing with.

🎧 Listen now and learn more at breakingfreeproject.com

Follow Cari Fund at @cari.fund

Motherhood isn't just hard — it's heavy. And one of the biggest invisible weights? Feeding everyone… every single day.

In this episode of Surviving Roots, Cari Fund sits down with Diana Arango, co-founder + CEO of Chefpost, a platform connecting busy families with vetted personal chefs on demand. Diana shares the real story behind Chefpost: how her own burnout as a working mom sparked a mission to help families reclaim time, presence, and connection at home.

In this conversation, we cover:

• The mental load of meal planning (and why it's exhausting)

• Why "balance" is a myth — and what actually works for moms

• How to shift from a suffering mindset to a supported life

• Why asking for help is strength, not failure

• How Chefpost makes personal chef support accessible and flexible

Explore Chefpost: chefpost.com

Subscribe for more conversations on healing, motherhood, boundaries, and building a life that actually feels good. www.instagram.com/cari.fund

If the holidays bring up complicated feelings about family, you're not broken — you're human. My Estrangement Survival Mini Guide is for adult children navigating distance, boundaries, or no-contact with a parent while still wanting peace, clarity, and self-trust. It's not about blame or cutting people off. It's about understanding your nervous system, releasing guilt, and choosing what supports your healing — whatever that looks like for you.

Click here: https://cari-fund.myshopify.com/

At twenty, she found her father after a fatal accident. At forty, she lost her husband to cancer. And somehow—she found herself again.

In this deeply human conversation, lifestyle and beauty creator Rachael Potash shares how she turned unimaginable loss into a story of reinvention, healing, and hope. Now a mom of two and a bonus mom to four, she's helping women over 40 feel seen, confident, and hopeful again through fashion, beauty, and honest storytelling.

Rachael opens up about:

💔 Losing her husband at 40 and rebuilding her life from scratch 💫 Navigating motherhood, grief, and a blended family of six kids 💋 Finding love again — and redefining beauty, confidence, and identity in midlife 🧠 Choosing better instead of bitter, and learning to honor both joy and loss

This is not a story about tragedy. It's a story about rebirth — the kind that happens when you decide your second act will be your strongest.

Listen to Reinvention After Loss: Confidence, Healing, and Finding Love Again at 40 on the Surviving Roots Podcast with host Cari Fund.

Follow @rachaelpotash, @survivingrootspod, and @cari.fund on Instagram for more real conversations on healing, motherhood, and starting over.

What happens when the "good daughter" wakes up to the truth?

In this week's Surviving Roots episode, Cari Fund sits down with Lauren Smallcomb — certified mind-body practitioner, trauma survivor, and author of Golden Child: My Descent to Scapegoat and Rise to Freedom.

Lauren shares her journey from being the adored "golden child" in a rigid, religious family to becoming the scapegoat when faith, politics, and identity collided. Together, Cari and Lauren explore what it means to break free from high-control systems, redefine forgiveness, and rebuild a life rooted in freedom, grief, and authenticity.

You'll hear: ✨ The painful shift from golden child to scapegoat ✨ How patriarchy and religion shaped her silence ✨ Why acceptance (not forgiveness) is where healing begins ✨ What parenting looks like after breaking generational cycles

Grab Golden Child wherever books are sold and follow Lauren's work at @flourish_therapy and @goldenchildbook.

🎧 Listen to Surviving Roots Podcast on all major platforms — and don't forget to leave a review and share this episode with someone who's healing from a family that couldn't hold their truth.

Follow Cari Fund at @cari.fund on Istagram.

What if setting boundaries isn't about pushing people away — but about finally choosing yourself?

In this powerful and deeply relatable conversation, Harvard-trained clinical psychologist Dr. Sabrina Romanoff joins Surviving Roots host Cari Fund to unpack the hidden patterns that shape our relationships — from friendship breakups and people-pleasing to the repetition of childhood wounds in our adult lives.

Together they explore:

• Why boundaries are acts of preservation, not rejection.

• How self-abandonment begins in childhood — and how to stop repeating it.

• The psychology behind friendship breakups and envy.

• What "getting comfortable in the uncomfortable" really looks like.

• How to know if someone is a battery or a generator in your life.

• Why guilt can actually be a sign of healing.

Whether you're untangling toxic dynamics or learning to stand in your worth, this episode will help you reconnect with the version of yourself you've been betraying just to keep the peace.

✨ Connect with Dr. Sabrina Romanoff: @drsabrinaromanoff 🎧 Listen to more episodes of Surviving Roots — streaming now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major platforms. 📘 Download The Bold Self-Healing Guide — your free resource for turning pain into potential, linked in Cari's bio at @cari.fund